The true cost of dog ownership

[Minxy]

There’s enough dogs that need homing in this Country.

I never understood why dogs need bringing into this Country.
Seems like some are even making a living out of bringing strays into this Country, what’s that all about

The trouble is that the rescue shelters are extremely 'picky' about who they let home dogs now and to be honest there aren't that many dogs nowadays, which isn't a bad thing but it means that if you have a more restricted requirement such as dog size, age, sex etc it can be difficult to find one, that's what happened with us as I knew I couldn't manage a large one if it got poorly/hurt as I wouldn't be able to carry it so that narrowed down our choice significantly.

When we looked for a dog a couple of years ago the prices being asked were stupid (hyped up due to people wanting to get a pet during Covid) but apart from that it still wasn't easy to find a suitable one, we wanted a smaller dog, not too old (up to a 18 months), preferably female so she would get on with our existing ones. After much searching and biding our time we found Minky fairly locally and paid £900 for her even though she's just a cross-breed being a 'Chisel' (Chihuahua/Jack Russell) although we tell her she's a miniature German Shepherd so as not to give her an inferiority complex (and yes other people have believed us when we've told them that jokingly!!!! ). We wouldn't part with her for anything and when we wanted a playmate for her in 2022 it was still difficult to find one, we tried the shelters again, near and far, and after seriously considering one which was a bit bigger than we really wanted and also a boy we just happened to fall onto Bella and that was it, she only cost us £350 but if she'd been the same cost as Minky it wouldn't have made a difference, we'd still have wanted her.

What the situation is like now at shelters I don't know but I suspect it is still difficult to find smaller dogs just as it was when we were looking so in those circumstances I can understand why people look abroad for them but for more 'standard' sized dogs then I agree there are a lot more to choose from but still not a massive amount. I help with Hull Greyhound Rescue (I do their website) and they used to have 10-15 dogs in the kennels mainly from Ireland, now it's less than 10 and sometimes has been as few as 4, I think part of this is down to the govt restricting the importing of dogs from abroad for a long time during Covid and I'm not sure if that restriction has been fully rescinded.

As for making a living bringing dogs in, yes the boy dog we were seriously considering, although not a foreign one, came from a rehoming charity that did mainly bring them in from abroad and I did have my suspicions that they were very much into making 'money' in the process but even if they were, the important thing is the dogs and getting them homes.

when .

 

[Minxy]

I can categorically state I've felt more loved by my dogs than I ever felt with any woman I've been involved with.

And they don't give you the silent treatment or hold grudges etc either.

You've not met our Tazzy have you! When she doesn't go out for a walk in a morning at the time she expects she sits by the front door with a big scowl on her face or gives us the 'death squint' when she's just been woken up!

 

[animal]

We got 2 westie pups a few weeks back. Apart from the astonishing cost of pups (I’m on beans toast.) total cost is not even worried about. They become family.
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Envy you they are gorgous, lost our westy Poppy last April at nearly 15 but still have our 12year old Cairn but still miss her so much. Enjoy them they are great little dogs Pops was our third Westy 1 boy and 2 girls !!

 

[fat haggis]

Envy you they are gorgous, lost our westy Poppy last April at nearly 15 but still have our 12year old Cairn but still miss her so much. Enjoy them they are great little dogs Pops was our third Westy 1 boy and 2 girls !!

They are our 8th westies lost my best buddy Rory ( westie) suddenly 18months ago. Only 13. Hear murmur and within the week he was gone. So it was time to get our dogs again. We do have a cairn cross we rescued. She is half cairn and half chihuahua. Unidimensional mix.

 

[Coolcats]

How do you know that's not the be all and end all of love? Love is just a vague woolly concept so I don't think you can tell all us dog owners who say we have experienced love with a dog that dogs don't 'love'
Love is either a vague concept a bit like god that some people see in many different ways and forms or not at all OR if you want to be confident that a dog does or doesn't love then you should use the scientific method of describing love. I would never be so bold to say that I know exactly what makes a feeling between 2 living beings love or not it could well just be a chemical process as we actually understand very little about brains and how feelings work.

This study though states that dogs do get an oxytocin surge from human interaction as do we so personally I think that's as close as proof you can get that dogs can 'love'

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How do I ‘know’ because Human love is a wonderful thing and experience this daily. Whilst I have had a dog and as brilliant as it was neither the Dog or cats provide love that a human can.

A dog is a dog it’s an animal and whilst a sentient being it cannot love a human it may well get pleasure from being in a pack even if that pack is just one human it is not love. A dog or cat has totally different senses and behaviour to Humans.

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[Minxy]

Coolcats ... out of interest how many dogs have you had?

 

[JJ]

Lock your wife and your dog in the boot of your car for an hour and see which one is most pleased to see you when you let them out...

JJ

 

[Coolcats]

Coolcats ... out of interest how many dogs have you had?

3 a small Mongrel a medium Mongrel and a German Shepard and 5 Cats ( not all at the same time) the dogs had names as did 4 of the cats and one cat was called No3 its was the Cat with no name.

Cats Rule OK

No pets at the moment

The dogs never slept on sofa's or beds their place was the floor, Cats had thier place too

 

[Coolcats]

Lock your wife and your dog in the boot of your car for an hour and see which one is most pleased to see you when you let them out...

JJ

I would get a friend to open the boot I am not that silly

 

[Clive Beeza]

The true cost….?
Insurance
Vets
Damage
Missing out because no dogs allowed
Like taking the tunnel instead of a ferry
Etc
Etc
Etc…..

What’s it cost for the lifespan of say 12-15yrs…?

owning a dog which becomes a loving family member is priceless

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[PaulyP]

My wife calculated it once; it came out at £3000/year for two dogs.

Ian

My two approx £20 a month for food avoid vets as much as possible never had and never will have insurance so about £250/300 a year.

 

[Linda farley]

The true cost….?
Insurance
Vets
Damage
Missing out because no dogs allowed
Like taking the tunnel instead of a ferry
Etc
Etc
Etc…..

What’s it cost for the lifespan of say 12-15yrs…?

Dogs are like everything else a choice. My hubby dislikes them so we don’t have one. I find it a bit annoying how many there are on the Portsmouth ferries and the fact that as I’m in a wheelchair I have to do battle with people with dogs to get in the lift! If I’m honest I can’t understand why anyone would want to share their Moho with a mutt unless they are alone then it makes perfect sense. An interesting claim , a dog produces as much carbon as a 4x4 by the time you take into account meat and methane ? Must be nearly as much as a Moho then.

 

[Grianan]

And they don't give you the silent treatment or hold grudges etc either.

Our Nala was so offended after a big telling off she turned her back and wouldn’t talk to her beloved dad for about 36 hours. I’m not entirely sure she’s 100% dog though.

 

[Bazzagas]

I had insurance up until 3 years ago. It was extremely adventurous as my Jack Russell had a CL rupture and the total cost for meds and surgery was approx.£4000. I paid just the excess of £200. Unfortunately a year later the little fella had the same injury on the other rear leg and my insurance company wouldn’t pay out. The policy specified they would only cover the same injury once. In my mind I assumed that meant the same leg - not so. Admit it was my fault for not understanding the policy fully and I therefore incurred the cost. Never did I consider not having the surgery, he is my constant companion after all. However I no longer bother with insurance and just set money aside each month. Although my dog cost me just £200 when I bought him 9 years ago, it never crossed my mind that £8000 of vets bills for 2 injuries was irrational.

Robbing b*******....my dog has four legs so I wonder which one is covered..?
What is the name of the insurance provider...

 

[Bazzagas]

Dogs are like everything else a choice. My hubby dislikes them so we don’t have one. I find it a bit annoying how many there are on the Portsmouth ferries and the fact that as I’m in a wheelchair I have to do battle with people with dogs to get in the lift! If I’m honest I can’t understand why anyone would want to share their Moho with a mutt unless they are alone then it makes perfect sense. An interesting claim , a dog produces as much carbon as a 4x4 by the time you take into account meat and methane ? Must be nearly as much as a Moho then.

If a dog produces as much carbon as a 4x4 and it lives 12-15 years..how much carbon does a person produce in, say ,75 years..

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[bigtwin]

My two approx £20 a month for food avoid vets as much as possible never had and never will have insurance so about £250/300 a year.

We had insurance throughout the life of our dogs and saved a lot of money as a consequence.

Wont be the same for everyone though.

Ian

 

[Silver-Fox]

The stories and from what I’ve read puts me off getting a dog from a rescue centre as now it seems like a business…. Besides, I don’t think they’d let me have one….

I’d like a dog to pick me and being on my travels that’s more likely…

Fair shout

Have to say these rescue centres do seem to charge a fair amount for a “rescue”

And you have to jump through hoops to get a dog.

 

[Northernraider]

I wonder if like many car body repair shops vets simply quote crazy prices as they assume the insurance is paying for it.

 

[Langtoftlad]

I wonder if like many car body repair shops vets simply quote crazy prices as they assume the insurance is paying for it.

I think an element of that is true - it would also let them 'help' the uninsured and the various waifs & strays people come in with.
But also the rise of corporate ownership means focussing on profitability knowing their customers will pay for it.

 

[PaulyP]

Fair shout

Have to say these rescue centres do seem to charge a fair amount for a “rescue”

And you have to jump through hoops to get a dog.

Definitely don’t want rescue centres letting dogs go cheap as they would attract the wrong people. They also need to check out where they are going to be.

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[Apacheman]

Not a cost (well could have been one) but an experience. Jumped on the tram into Valencia last May with our Cockapoo. Got off at Pont de Fust to a load of ticket inspectors and Policia. Had a ticket inspector waving her arms and all animated, picked up ‘No Peros en le tren’. Oops!

 

[Helen Ariel]

How do I ‘know’ because Human love is a wonderful thing and experience this daily. Whilst I have had a dog and as brilliant as it was neither the Dog or cats provide love that a human can.

A dog is a dog it’s an animal and whilst a sentient being it cannot love a human it may well get pleasure from being in a pack even if that pack is just one human it is not love. A dog or cat has totally different senses and behaviour to Humans.

So because you haven't experienced it you decided no one else has and have chosen to ignore the scientific proof I gave. No point discussing the concept further then as you're close minded about it.

 

[PaulW2]

So because you haven't experienced it you decided no one else has and have chosen to ignore the scientific proof I gave. No point discussing the concept further then as you're close minded about it.

It's nonetheless quite interesting to disaggregate things to see where the real disagreement lies.

So we're all biological things, with quite similar chemistry and mechanisms.

Do they feel pain like we do? As they approximate our biology we're more confident in saying yes. Chimpanzees yes, dogs yes. Slugs? Spiders? Fish? We're less sure.

It's also clear that my response, as a human, is what it is. It is susceptible to measurement and my own interrogation and to scientific analysis even. So what I feel towards the dog may be measurable and demonstrable. It triggers certain physiological reactions that may be indistinguishable from that triggered by human interaction. So there is no need to dispute the self-reports based on an admittedly woolly definition of terms.

Then there's a bit of sleight of hand that goes on. Ok, so that's what you feel, but what is it that the other party feels? What do they give, on their terms?

We never properly know this, even with people. Among other things it's an 'other minds' problem. But once we abstract that away, there are a few points to consider.

Firstly, it's not clear why this should matter. It's not reciprocity among equals, quite obviously, so insisting on such reciprocity is maybe just to skew the discussion to preferred outcomes. England doesn't love me back so does that mean I don't love England?

Secondly, as when we meet foreigners we need to subtract the points of difference to arrive at our judgments. My dog may have a limited receptive English vocab (sit!), but doesn't speak it. Maybe my shepherd's German and my poodle French. But it's quite obviously emotionally engaged, it can be pleased, hurt, upset. It's happy to see me and so on.

And when we look at the underlying physiology as far as we can tell very similar things are going on. So it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck.

 

[Helen Ariel]

It's nonetheless quite interesting to disaggregate things to see where the real disagreement lies.

So we're all biological things, with quite similar chemistry and mechanisms.

Do they feel pain like we do? As they approximate our biology we're more confident in saying yes. Chimpanzees yes, dogs yes. Slugs? Spiders? Fish? We're less sure.

It's also clear that my response, as a human, is what it is. It is susceptible to measurement and my own interrogation and to scientific analysis even. So what I feel towards the dog may be measurable and demonstrable. It triggers certain physiological reactions that may be indistinguishable from that triggered by human interaction. So there is no need to dispute the self-reports based on an admittedly woolly definition of terms.

Then there's a bit of sleight of hand that goes on. Ok, so that's what you feel, but what is it that the other party feels? What do they give, on their terms?

We never properly know this, even with people. Among other things it's an 'other minds' problem. But once we abstract that away, there are a few points to consider.

Firstly, it's not clear why this should matter. It's not reciprocity among equals, quite obviously, so insisting on such reciprocity is maybe just to skew the discussion to preferred outcomes. England doesn't love me back so does that mean I don't love England?

Secondly, as when we meet foreigners we need to subtract the points of difference to arrive at our judgments. My dog may have a limited receptive English vocab (sit!), but doesn't speak it. Maybe my shepherd's German and my poodle French. But it's quite obviously emotionally engaged, it can be pleased, hurt, upset. It's happy to see me and so on.

And when we look at the underlying physiology as far as we can tell very similar things are going on. So it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck.

Yes exactly. I do find the ideas and concepts about love, and animals Vs humans very interesting but what is annoying is when one person tells everyone else that they are wrong about something that is so unknowable. I don't believe in god but I don't go around telling people who do that they are wrong as there is no way to prove it.

 

[boldhamster]

I don't have insurance

No damage

Don't miss out , my dogs go most places with me.

Haven't used the tunnel in a few years ,I just use the ferry.


So it's only really food , treats etc, and vets when they need vaccinations updated every few years .

I expect as they get older there will be additional costs.

You’re responsible if your dog causes an accident - costs way more than insurance.

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[PaulyP]

You’re responsible if your dog causes an accident - costs way more than insurance.

I would think the chances of that happening would be minimal so I’m prepared to take a chance, it’s not happened yet in over 50 years of dog ownership.

 

[Ducatian]

Cost? We changed our way of life

Reward? Priceless!

 

[Joethejoiner]

I love dogs. But they have to belong to somebody else. Too much responsibility for me to actually own one.

Exactly. If you don't want the responsibility please don't get a dog

 

[Gina M]

I know someone who "rescued" a female dog from the dogs trust. The dog hadn't been spayed, which I thought was shocking.

 

[helen peters]

Our JRT is 16 this month. Still comes to Europe with us and loves warmer climates. Gave up annual jabs and insurance when she was about 12. She has a French passport and our vet there charges 20 euros for rabies jab every 3 years. Tunnel charge £40 each trip, and tapeworm treatment each visit 40 euros. She’s never had any ailments. So not a lot to pay out for a best friend.

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